ERAS and early mobilisation: a 2022 review
2022 review of early mobilisation in ERAS pathways: complications, walking again, hospital stay. A summary, not a new study.
Blog · Steps and oxygenation
Oxygen and wound healing: a 2004 review
2004 review: why the oxygen reaching the tissues matters for wound healing and resistance to infection. A summary, not a new study.
A review from Odense University Hospital, published in the World Journal of Surgery in 2004, sums up a principle known to surgery: a continuous supply of oxygen to the tissues through the microcirculation is vital for healing and for resistance to infection. It starts from a clinical observation: wounds do not heal in tissue that does not bleed. The author therefore considers it important to assess tissue perfusion and oxygenation in every kind of wound patient.
The biological mechanism
Oxygen is needed for three healing processes: collagen synthesis, which gives the repaired tissue its structure; killing bacteria by oxidation, one of the defences against infection; and the formation of new blood vessels that bring oxygen to the wound.
All three depend on how much oxygen reaches the tissue.
Look at which group of people the study followed.
The wound as a temporary organ
The author describes the surgical wound as an extra, temporary “organ” with higher metabolic needs than the surrounding tissue. It needs more oxygen than normal, and impaired circulation takes it away.
Extra oxygen: what the review says
External factors can significantly reduce the oxygen reaching the tissues. The review cites a study in which supplementary oxygen given around the operation halved the wound infection rate in patients undergoing colorectal resection.
On hyperbaric oxygen it is more cautious: it may help when the oxygen supply to the tissue is compromised, but for the author the definitive proof of its effect has yet to come. The conclusion is that delivering enough oxygen to the wound is vital for healing and resisting infection, and that assessing perfusion and oxygenation matters for the patient and for those treating them.
Your doctor knows your history. The study does not.
The Digital Twin and this research
The Digital Twin lines up the data your devices write to your phone, such as steps, heart rate and sleep, and shows you how they change over time. It does not measure tissue oxygenation, it does not assess whether you are ready for surgery and it does not diagnose: this research describes groups of people, not you. Preparation for surgery is decided and followed by the care team.
The source is at the bottom. Open it.
The source
This summary starts from research by others. It is not medical advice for you: talk it over with your doctor.
- Gottrup F., World Journal of Surgery (2004), (opens in a new tab)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Their study. Your data.
Related reading
Exercise and lung surgery: a meta-analysis of seven studies
Meta-analysis of seven studies, 404 people having lung cancer surgery: those who exercised first had fewer complications. The 5,000 steps come from one.
Exercise before major surgery: a 2014 review
2014 review: high-quality evidence for exercise before cardiovascular surgery; for other surgery, only circumstantial.
More studies, same rule: read the source.